1. Biomes: Rainforest
SWBAT/SW: Analyze how biotic and abiotic factors interact within a rainforest

2. Forest Biomes
Forest biomes are the most widespread and the most diverse.
The large trees of forests need a lot of water, so forests can be found where temperatures are mild to hot and where rainfall is plenty.
3 main forest biomes of the world: tropical, temperate, and coniferous

3. Tropical Rainforest Near the equator.
Large amounts of rain and little variation in temperature and
Contain the greatest known diversity of organisms on Earth.
They help regulate world climate an play vital roles in the nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon cycles.

4. They are humid, warm, and get strong sunlight which allows them to maintain a fairly constant temperature that is ideal for a wide variety of plant and animal species

5. Most nutrients are within the plants, not the soil. Decomposers
Some trees in the tropical rain forest support fungi that feed on dead organic matter on the rainforest floor.
What kind or relationship is this
-Decomposers on the rainforest floor break down dead organisms and return the nutrients to the soil, but plants quickly absorb the nutrients.
-In this relationship, the fungi transfer the nutrients from the dead matter directly to the tree. Nutrients from dead organic matter are removed so efficiently that runoff from rain forests is often as pure as distilled water.
-Most tropical soils that are cleared of plants for agriculture lack nutrients and cannot support crops for more than a few years.
-Many of the trees form above ground roots called buttresses or braces that grow sideways from the tree to provide it with extra support in the thin soil.

6. Rainforest Layers
In tropical rain forests, different types of plants grow in different layers.
There are four main layers of the rain forest:
Emergent Layer
Upper Canopy
Lower Layer
Understory

7. Layers of Rainforest

8. Layers of Rainforest
The emergent layer is the top foliage layer in a forest where the trees extend above surrounding trees.
Trees in this layer grow and emerge into direct sunlight reaching heights of 60 to 70 m and can measure up to 5 m around.
Animals such as eagles, bats, monkeys, and snakes live in the emergent layer.

9. Layers of Rainforest
The canopy is the layers of treetops that shade the forest floor, and is considered to be the primary layer of the rain forest.
The tall trees, more than 30 m tall, form a dense layer that absorbs up to 95 percent of the sunlight.
The canopy can be split into and upper and lower canopy with the lower canopy receiving less of the sunlight.

10. Layers of Rainforest Epiphytes
-Epiphytes are plants that use another plant for support but not for nourishment, and are located on high trees in the canopy.
-Growing on tall trees allows them to reach the sunlight needed for photosynthesis, and to absorb the water and nutrients that run down the tree after it rains.
-Most animals that live in the rain forest live in the canopy because they depend on the abundant flowers and fruits that grow there.

11. Layers of the Forest
The understory is the foliage layer that is beneath and shaded by the main canopy of a forest.
Light?
Herbs with large flat leaves that grow on the forest floor capture the small amount of light that penetrates the understory.
-Little light reaches this layer allowing only trees and shrubs adapted to shade to grow there.
-Most plants in the understory do not grow more that 3.5 m tall.

12. Threats to Rainforest
Every minute of every day, 100 acres of tropical rainforest are cleared for logging operations, agriculture, and oil exploration.
Exotic pet trading robs the rain forests of rare and valuable plant and animal species only found there.
Habitat destruction occurs when land inhabited by an organism is destroyed or altered.
If the habitat that an organism depends on is destroyed, the organism is at risk of disappearing.

13. Forests
Temperate Rainforest

14. Temperate Rainforest
Temperate rain forests are forests communities that are characterized by
cool, humid weather and abundant rainfall
where tree branches are draped with mosses
tree trunks are covered with lichens
the forest floor is covered with ferns
They occur in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, and are dominated by evergreen trees such as the Douglas fir and Sitka spruce

16. Forests
Taiga

17. Taiga
The taiga is the region of evergreen, coniferous forest below the arctic and subarctic tundra regions.
The taiga has long winters and little vegetation.
The growing season can be as short as 50 days with most plant growth occurring during the summer months because of nearly constant daylight and larger amounts of precipitation.

19. -Winters are 6-10 months/ Average temp is subzero and can reach -20C -

20. Taiga-Plants A conifer is a tree that has seeds that develop in cones.
Their leaves’ arrow shape and waxy coating
Why?
Conifer needles contains substances that make the soil acidic when they fall to the ground preventing plants from growing on the floor.
Also, soil forms slowly in the taiga because the climate and acidity slow decomposition.
-Forest floor is dark and has little vegetation
-helps them to retain water in the winter. The conifer’s shape also helps the tree shed snow to the ground and not get weighed down.

21. Taiga-Animals
The taiga has many lakes and swamps that in the summer attract birds that feed on insects.
To avoid the harsh winters, birds migrate, while some year round residents, such as shrews, burrow underground for better insulation.
Other animals, such as snowshoe hares, have adapted to avoid predation by shedding their brown summer fur and growing white fur that camouflages them in the winter snow.

24. Biomes: Grasslands, Desert, and Tundras
SWBAT/SW: Analyze how biotic and abiotic factors interact within savanna, grassland, and chaparal biomes

25. Grassland, Desert, and Tundra Biomes
In climates that have less rainfall, forest biomes are replaced by savanna, grassland, and chaparral biomes.
As even less rain falls in these biomes, they change into desert and tundra biomes.
As precipitation decreases in an area, the diversity of the species in the area also decreases.

26. Savannas
Savannas are plains full of grasses and scattered trees and shrubs that are found in tropical and subtropical habitats.
Found mainly in regions with a dry climate, such as East Africa and western India.
Have a wet season and a dry season.
Many animals are only active during the wet season. Why?

27. Savannas

28. Plants of the Savanna
Because most of the rain falls during the wet season, plants must be able to survive prolonged periods without water.
What do you think are possible adaptations?
Some plants have large horizontal root systems to help them survive the dry season.
These roots also enable the plant to grow quickly after a fire.
The grasses also have coarse vertical leaves that expose less surface area to help conserve water, while some trees shed their leaves.
Almost all have thorns for protection from herbivores.

29. Animals of the Savanna
Grazing herbivores, like the elephant, have adopted migratory ways of life, following the rains to areas of new grass and fresh watering holes.
How do predators respond?
Predators often stalk these animals for food.
Many savanna animals give birth only during the rainy season, when food is abundant and the young are more likely to survive.

31. The favored agricultural methods of farmers during this period created the conditions for large scale erosion under certain environmental conditions.[1] The widespread conversion of the land by deep plowing and other soil preparation methods to enable agriculture eliminated the native grasses which held the soil in place and helped retain moisture during dry periods. Furthermore, cotton farmers left fields bare over winter months, when winds in the High Plains are highest, and burned the stubble as a means to control weeds prior to planting, thus depriving the soil of organic nutrients and surface vegetation.When severe drought struck the Great Plains region in the 1930s, it exposed the increased risk for erosion that was created by the farming practices in use at the time. The drought dried the topsoil and over time it became friable, reduced to a powdery consistency in some places. Without the indigenous grasses in place, the high winds that occur on the plains were able to create the massive dust storms that marked the Dust Bowl period.[9]

32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2CiDaUYr9 0

33. Temperate Grasslands
Temperate grasslands are communities (or biomes) that are dominated by grasses, have few trees, and are characterized by hot summers and cold winters, with rainfall that is intermediate between that of a forest and a desert.
Most fertile soil of any biome
Few natural temperate grasslands remain because many have been replaced by grazing areas and farms growing crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat.

34. Temperate Grasslands
Temperate grasslands are located on the interiors of continents where too little rain falls for trees to grow and include the prairies of North America.
Mountains often play a crucial role in maintaining grasslands as rain clouds from the west are blocked.
Heavy precipitation is rare in the grasslands, allowing the hot temperatures in the summer to make the grasslands susceptible to fires.

35. Temperate Grasslands

36. Plants of Temperate Grasslands
Adaptations to dry conditions?
The roots system of prairie grasses form dense layers that survive drought and fire allowing the plants to come back from year to year.
Few trees survive on the grasslands because of the lack of rainfall, fire, and the constant winds.
The amount of rainfall in the area determines the types of plants that will grow in that area with varying root depth and grass height.
What is the relationship between root systems and erosion?

37. Grassland Plants

38. Animals of Temperate Grasslands
Animal adaptations?
Some grazing animals, such as the bison and pronghorn antelope, have large, flat teeth for chewing the coarse prairie grasses.
Other grasslands animals, such as prairie dogs, owls, and badgers, live protected in underground burrows that protect them from predators on the open grasslands.

39. Threats to Temperate Grasslands
Farming and overgrazing have changed the grasslands.
Grain crops cannot hold the soil in place as well as native grasses can because the roots of crops are shallow, so soil erosion eventually occurs.
Erosion is also caused as the grasses are constantly eaten and trampled.
Constant use can change the fruitful grasslands into desert like biomes.

40. Chaparral
Chaparral is a type of temperate woodland biome with vegetation that includes broad leafed evergreen shrubs and is located in areas with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.
Chaparrals are located primarily in coastal areas that have Mediterranean climates.
Chaparrals are located in the middle latitudes, about 30° north and south of the equator.

41. Chaparral

42. Plants of the Chaparral
Most chaparral plants are low-lying, evergreen shrubs and small trees that tend to grow in dense patches and include chamise, manzanita, scrub oak, and herbs like sage and bay.
These plants have small, leathery leaves that contain oils that promote burning, allowing natural fires to destroy competing trees.
Chaparral plants are well adapted to fire and can re-sprout from small bits of surviving plant tissue.

43. Animals of the Chaparral
A common adaptation of chaparral animals is camouflage, shape or coloring that allows an animal to blend into its environment.
Animals such as quail, lizards, chipmunks, and mule deer have a brownish gray coloring that lets them move through the brush without being noticed.

44. Threats to the Chaparral
Worldwide, the greatest threat to chaparral is human development.
Humans tend to develop lands of the chaparral for commercial and residential use because these biomes get a lot of sun, are near the oceans, and have a mild climate year round.

46. Deserts
Deserts are regions that have little or no vegetation, long periods without rain, and extreme temperatures.
Although there are hot and cold deserts, one characteristic they both share is the fact that they are the driest places on Earth.
Deserts are often located near large mountain ranges. Why?
because mountains can block the passage of moisture-filled clouds, limiting precipitation.

47. Deserts

48. Plants of the Desert
All desert plants have adaptations for obtaining and conserving water, which allows the plants to live in dry, desert conditions.
Predictions?
Have thick, fleshy stems and leaves that conserve water.
Waxy coating to prevent water loss, while sharp spines on the plant keep animals away.
Many plant roots spread out just under the surface to absorb as much rain as possible.
What if I put a magnolia tree in the desert? What would happen? Why?

49. Plants of the Desert
Some plants are adapted to survive for long periods of time without water.
When conditions are too dry, these plants die and drop their seeds that stay dormant until the next rainfall.
Then, new plants quickly germinate, grow, and bloom before the soil becomes dry again.
These plants can survive their water content dropping to as low as 30 percent of their mass.

50. Animals of the Desert Adaptations?
Animals of the desert have adapted many different ways to prevent water loss.
Reptiles have thick, scaly skin that prevents water loss.
Amphibians survive by estivating, or burying themselves in the ground and sleeping through the dry season.
Insects are covered with body armor that helps them retain water.
In addition, most desert animals are nocturnal

52. Tundra
The tundra is a treeless plain that is located in the Arctic or Antarctic and that is characterized by very low winter temperatures, short, cool summers, and vegetation that consists of grasses, lichens, and perennial herbs.
Summers are short in the tundra, so only the top few centimeters of soil thaw.
Permafrost is the permanently frozen layer of soil or subsoil and can be found in the tundra regions.

53. Tundra

54. Vegetation of the Tundra
Mosses and lichens, which can grow without soil, cover vast areas of rocks in the tundra.
The soil is thin, so plants have wide shallow roots to help anchor them against the icy winds.
Most flowering plants are short, which keeps them out of the wind and helps them absorb heat from the sunlit soil.
Woody plants and perennials have evolved dwarf forms that grow flat along the ground.

55. Animals of the Tundra
Millions of migratory birds fly to the tundra to breed in the summer when food is abundant.
Caribou migrate throughout the tundra in search of food and water.
Hunters such as wolves prey on migratory caribou, deer, and moose.
Rodents stay active, but burrow underground to avoid the cold.
Other year-round residents, such as arctic foxes, lose their brown summer coat for white fur that camouflages them with the snow.

56. Threats to the Tundra
The tundra is one of the most fragile biomes on the planet. Why?
The food chains are relatively simple so they are easily disrupted.
Until recently these areas have been undisturbed by humans
But oil was located in parts of the tundra, and oil exploration, extraction, and transport has disrupted many tundra habitats.
Pollution caused by spills or leaks of oil and other toxic materials may also poison the food and water sources of organisms of the tundra.